Pallinghurst Gets Go-Ahead in its Bid for Gemfields

London (06/27/2017) Pallinghurst Resources Ltd. announced Monday that it has received the shareholder support needed to move ahead with its bid to fully acquire Gemfields.

Despite suggestions from Gemfields’ board last week that it might have trouble gaining the necessary support, Pallinghurst received 96 percent of the vote.

The news is just the latest in the bidding war that has been surrounding the London-based colored gemstone miner of late.

In May, Pallinghurst, the company’s biggest investor, made an unsolicited offer to buy the 53 percent of Gemfields it doesn’t already own. Under the terms of the deal, each Gemfields shareholder will be entitled to receive 1.91 Pallinghurst shares for each Gemfields share.

Just a few weeks later, Shanghai-based investment company Fosun Gold offered to pay about $286 million for the company, a “significant premium to the Pallinghurst offer,” Gemfields said.

Gemfields’ board has said from the start that the Pallinghurst offer “significantly undervalues” the company, advising that the Fosun Gold offer is better.